Springwood High School students are enabled to press onward to the heights of personal achievement, fulfilment and reward in all that they do. Our touchstones are:
Excellence – academic and personal excellence within a nurturing and inclusive environment in which the individual is recognised and valued;
Creativity – promoting originality and value in thought and action through the powers of the imagination, self and communal expression, critical thinking and problem solving, and the affordances of technology;
Success – educating and supporting our students to the far reaches of their capacities so that they may succeed at school and in life.
The Springwood High School graduate – a young person who:
1. Strives for excellence in all that they do.
A culture of high expectations underpinned my time at Springwood High School. My personal best was expected of me in all facets of school life, and my achievements were recognised, valued and celebrated. As my talents (academic, cultural, sporting, social and emotional) were actively identified, fostered and supported within this culture of excellence and high expectations, I came to make such values my own.
2. Greets the future and post-school life with confidence.
My sense of self is strong. I am able to envisage a range of possibilities for me in the life I hope to go on to live. I will go out into the world and face my future with optimism and drive. I have developed a respect for learning and I understand its lifelong importance. I know that I have the emotional resources and the personal skills needed to thrive. I have developed the relationships and received the support necessary for me to become a determined and resilient individual. I have been well-prepared for the demands of post-school life, including further participation in education and the workforce, and my roles as a community and global citizen.
3. Demonstrates self-efficacy and independence
I recognise the importance that was placed on my individuality and my development as a ‘whole' person in the school's programs, and in the life of the school more generally. I have been encouraged, taught and supported to develop self-sufficiency, self-discipline and independence, both as a learner and as a person. I am now experienced in goal setting, and in monitoring and evaluating my progress towards those goals with a view to improvement and achievement.
4. Appreciates and possesses a capacity for creative self-expression, critical thinking and problem solving
The school's programs fostered my imagination and capacity for creative self-expression. I recognise the value of creativity to my emotional and social development, including my understanding of the richness, diversity and complexities of the human experience. My appreciation of the power of the human imagination has developed in conjunction with the critical thinking and problem-solving skills I have been taught. Such complementarity has enabled me to both understand and exercise the power of innovation in bringing about change and improvement. I consequently leave school confident that I possess the creativity, imagination and problem-solving skills needed to deal with the new or unexpected, as well as to live a fulfilled life.
5. Values diverse experiences and understandings of the world, empathises with others and is ethical in their social behavior and interactions
I am comfortable with difference and diversity because of the emphasis that such values were given at Springwood High School, and the ways in which they were upheld in the day-to-day life of the school. I recognise and understand the relationship between the ‘local' and the ‘global' because my teachers made such links in their lessons whenever possible. My teachers also made clear the ‘real world' relevance and applications of my learning, helping me to understand the possibilities and responsibilities I have as a citizen of both my community and the world. As a result, I have developed a strong ethical framework. I am mindful of the potential impact of my own beliefs and actions on others and on the environments in which I live and work. My understanding of the importance of social justice has been broadened. To the extent that I am able, I am determined to challenge injustice wherever and whenever I see it.